With a new year just over the horizon, Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrated 2022 in style at its Annual Holiday Installation and Awards Luncheon, hosted at Lighthouse Restaurant.
Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce Annual Holiday Installation & Awards Luncheon 2022
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The annual festivities, sponsored this year by Franciscan Health, pay tribute to a year gone by and honor a handful of special individuals with a set of awards. Also highlighted were a number of the chamber’s unique achievements in 2022, such as adding its 100th new member and hosting its Inaugural Empowering Women in Business Brunch.
“We’re super financially sound; we’ve had a great year,” said Deann Patena, president & CEO of Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We hosted all of our events and everything is just getting bigger. We’ve got 140 people here today. We’re drawing in more people, growing our businesses, and everything is going great!”
In front of that large crowd, the chamber also took the opportunity to install the Board of Directors for 2023 – which this time sees a pair of new faces joining the team.
“We have a great new board coming in, with 23 members one of the biggest boards we’ve had in a long time,” said Patena. “We’re really looking forward to 2023. We’ve got some exciting stuff coming up that I can’t spill the beans on just yet, but there are some new endeavors that we’re going to launch, and I can’t wait for this board to take us over the finish line.”
The Board of Director Service Awards were two of the day’s accolades, recognizing the achievements of the outgoing board members. The first winner was Corey Bush of Bryco Facility Services. The second was posthumously awarded to Karen Lauerman, president & CEO of the Lake County Economic Alliance, who passed away in November.
“It’s so important to recognize these individuals, small businesses, and community leaders,” said Michael Telesky, vice president of sales at United Healthcare – a chamber partner organization. “We want to celebrate here at the end of the year, at the start of this holiday season. And, of course, we want to recognize all the great work that the chamber does to support small businesses out in the communities that it serves.”
The other award winners were; Connie Vizena of Belfor Property Restoration, who was honored with the Distinguished Service Award; Ryan Peterson of Chicago Title, who claimed the Chairman of the Board Award; Kyle Feck of On The Go Therapy, who earned the Ambassador of the Year Award.
“This is all about commemorating the wins that we’ve accomplished as a chamber and as individuals or businesses over the last year,” said Jessica Hubbard, director of special events for the Crossroads Regional Chamber. “With new board members, small business owners – it’s awesome to have fresh eyes come in, join our board, and offer fresh perspectives. We’re business-focused, all about how we can help you, how we can make a small business thrive and grow in this economic area we have.”
To learn more about the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce, visit crossroadschamber.org.